BBQ Brethren "Lesser Known Cuts of Meat" Throwdown!

[---k---]

I never saw alligator coming.

[caseydog]

Originally Posted by ---k---

It looks sooooo good, but "Lesser Known"??? I know I said your super beefy beef ribs would be in, but Tri-Tip is pushing it.

It's kind of like sauce from a jar in a "Saucy" throwdown, ain't it? Yes, I am getting a certain amount of really warped satisfaction out of this.

CD

[BobBrisket]

I'll throw this dog, er, lamb into the fight! Course, dog, would have been a REALLY lesser known cut!

Some Jerk Seasoned Lamb Shoulder Blade Chop with egg noods and green stuff with nuts, cranberries and some red dressing stuff..........it's supposta be healthy for you. What eva.

It was damn good! More details in QT later.

[Gore]

Originally Posted by ---k---

I never saw alligator coming.

Famous last words?

[Gore]

Great looking lamb, Bob. I love that salad.

[Gore]

This one is a slight variation of some other cooks, but I've never actually seen a post on it specifically. It is salmon candy made from the salmon belly. For those who have cured and smoked salmon, you realize that the belly portion is very different from the rest. It is thin and fatty and when it is smoked with sugar, you have something similar to candy. The nearest I can liken it to is pig candy, but I actually prefer salmon candy. I begin with a salmon (I've already trimmed off the tail). The best portion is nearest the head, but I will trim off the entire bottom section.



I make a cure of 4:1, brown sugar:Kosher salt. It normally takes about 2 cups total.



I place the salmon pieces in a bag coated both sides in dry cure, put some weights on it (bags of brown sugar, usually) and place it back in the fridge overnight. Next morning, I rinse the pieces, pat them dry and let them rest a couple hours while I prepare the smoker.



I make a small fire with a big chunk of cherry wood for smoke. I aim for 175*, but anywhere between 150* and 200* is pretty good. I then coat both sides of the salmon with real maple syrup.



And a healthy coating of fresh ground pepper.



To make candy, I add another coating of maple syrup after the pepper, then I smoke for between 2-4 hours (until done). This is normally about 145* IT, but I know it when I see it.



And what does that belly look like?



You can eat it with crackers, but I normally just eat the candy plain.

[colonel00]

Fantastic Gore. Now I have another thing to add to my list of things to try after my Alaska trip this fall.

[Will work for bbq]

Salmon Bacon!!!

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by Gore

This one is a slight variation of some other cooks, but I've never actually seen a post on it specifically. It is salmon candy made from the salmon belly. For those who have cured and smoked salmon, you realize that the belly portion is very different from the rest. It is thin and fatty and when it is smoked with sugar, you have something similar to candy. The nearest I can liken it to is pig candy, but I actually prefer salmon candy. I begin with a salmon (I've already trimmed off the tail). The best portion is nearest the head, but I will trim off the entire bottom section.



I make a cure of 4:1, brown sugar:Kosher salt. It normally takes about 2 cups total.



I place the salmon pieces in a bag coated both sides in dry cure, put some weights on it (bags of brown sugar, usually) and place it back in the fridge overnight. Next morning, I rinse the pieces, pat them dry and let them rest a couple hours while I prepare the smoker.



I make a small fire with a big chunk of cherry wood for smoke. I aim for 175*, but anywhere between 150* and 200* is pretty good. I then coat both sides of the salmon with real maple syrup.



And a healthy coating of fresh ground pepper.



To make candy, I add another coating of maple syrup after the pepper, then I smoke for between 2-4 hours (until done). This is normally about 145* IT, but I know it when I see it.



And what does that belly look like?



You can eat it with crackers, but I normally just eat the candy plain.

Dooode!!! You are killing me! Salmon Candy!!!!!!!!! I can literally taste all of those flavors. Real Maple and coarse pepper.........what a great contrast! LOVE IT!

[colonel00]

Well, against my better judgement, I will go ahead and add my entry. There are already some fantastic entries so I am once again hoping for the coveted goose egg. Since I cooked this yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I might as well share.

My choice of lesser known cut was a hunk of venison backstrap. As some may know, it technically is the loin of the deer. Now, a loin may not be very rare, but since this loin comes from the only mule deer that I have ever harvested, I find that quite rare

So, I started with this good sized chunk of backstrap. Since venison runs very lean, I decided to do a fancy bacon weave to help keep it moist.



After the weave was done I coated the meat with a thin layer of steak dust and a good coating of Santa Maria rub from The Rub Co.



Then the bacon was wrapped around the meat and dusted with a little more rub.



From there it went onto the grill, indirect along with some chicken. I was doing some other stuff so I didn't quite pull it when I had wanted and the IT crept up to 145*.






Inside it came and it was sliced up for a delicious meal with some red beans and rice.

(I think I almost like this pic better than the plated photos)

[colonel00]

Double post

[ecode]

We've been cooking flap meat for well over a decade. This probably would've been more popular if it wasn't called, "flap meat" -- what were they thinking . It is a portion of the loin section and quite small, so there is not much on a cow. They used to cut this piece up and mix it with the stew meat. It is exceptionally tender, however, and Costco started selling it as a separate cut. It used to be about half the price of ribeye, but it has become quite popular and the cost is about the same now.



It has a very hearty, beefy flavor and takes a marinade well.



Because of its odd shape, we generally cube it up and turn it into kebabs.



We've cooked these plain like steak, with just rub, or we'll marinade for a few hours.



We cook these up hot and fast. Generally we serve these on rice. This is some curried rice with lentils that I'd made. Gore also loves roasted red peppers.



Thanks for looking!

[Al Czervik]

Wow...

What a flurry of great entries...

I'm glad I didn't jump in on this Throwdown, although the chances of another zero would have been pretty good.

[TOPPER-Q]

Wow, never would have thunk... that puppy looks awsome..., hope ya dont mind but I'm gonna give that a whirl.....

[BIGBrandon2785]

Man I should fire up the grill and smoke some Beefalo.................that gator looks good too.